Yemen

President Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared on television in his first address to the nation. With white stubble on his face rather than the trademark mustache, he was clearly recovering from the assassination attempt which took place a month ago. Saleh stated the fact that he wanted to share power. The Yemen TV pre-recorded interview portrayed him with bandages on his hands and arms.

“We are not against participation” he emphasized. He thanked King Abdullah for allowing hospitalization and treatment in Saudi Arabia. He also said in a signature style of his that ” we will confront a challenge with a challenge.” But the people of Yemen have had enough. They are not bamboozled by his pleas for reconsideration.

Rumors about his return to Yemen abound. It will however be difficult due to the steady pressure that has built up against him in his own country.

After Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded he left for Saudi Arabia where he was hospitalized. But having undergone extensive treatment he is back to his usual self. The man is fit enough to make remarks about how he might return to Yemen. However, many of those who opposed his rule in the first place have made it clear that he should not even think about coming to power.

“The important thing is that he signs an agreement to transfer power” said Ali Seif Hassan, a political analyst. Previously Saleh had refused to sign the GCC Agreement thereby jeopardizing his chances of a rapprochement with the people of Yemen. When a bomb hit his palace, shrapnel got stuck in his chest causing severe injuries due to which he had to rush to Saudi Arabia for succor.

But now Saleh is having second thoughts. The intoxication of power is so great that our leaders will make heaven and earth meet in order to continue their rule.

The Yemeni Premier was lightly wounded in an attack with mortar shells on his compound in Sanaa. The dissidents which include the Ahmar Tribe have really done it this time. Ali Abdullah Saleh along with a few other officials were wounded when shells struck a mosque in the presidential palace.

The Premier is said to have spoken of how he will address his people shortly. This is a wise decision seeing the state of affairs in Yemen which are truly dismal. The revolutionary forces have refused to budge from their stance which is for greater human rights and an end to poverty.

Government agencies and street fighters retaliated against each other with weapons in the capital, Sanaa. The result was that 41 Yemenis got killed in the clashes. The fighting began in the capital but soon spread to other areas of the country. The rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh seems to be coming to an end.

Saleh’s 33 year rule is enough cause for exasperation. The tribal coalition want out. Protesters shouted pro-democratic slogans and demanded rightful justice. Ali Abdullah Saleh’s violent streak has dismayed western governments which once used to support him. The current state in Yemen is wholly nightmarish.

The state of security and order in Yemen is deteriorating by the hour. Fighting between the insurgent elements and President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces have wreaked havoc on the infrastructure. Saleh has refused to sign the truce thereby adding fuel to the fire. More than a hundred people have been killed since the previous week in gun battles being held on the streets of the capital Sanaa.

Chaos reigns supreme as worries over a possible civil war start to weigh on the minds of the Yemenis. A resident has spoken of how the clashes are so fierce that he and his children couldn’t get any sleep at night. Yemen is home to rebel Al-Qaeda militants and this very fact spells trouble for its northern neighbor, Saudi Arabia which has some of the richest oil fields in the world.

The state of Yemen is headed for disaster. The cycle of violence has reached epic proportions where people are being killed in clashes between opposing factions. For obvious reasons this poses a threat to its northern neighbor, Saudi Arabia. People were seen leaving the capital, Sanaa, by stacking their belongings on top of their cars and hurrying off. There seems no end to the street fighting that has claimed at least 40 people’s lives since Monday.

The major grievance the freedom fighters have is against the head of the state, Ali Abdullah Saleh. In the vituperative speech of one such person named Ahmar, gang leader of the Hashed tribal federation: “Ali Abdullah Saleh is a liar, liar, liar.” The fear remains that Yemen will end up a failed state or at worse a rogue state and a base for Al-Qaeda. The fate and future of this country remains in the balance.